
The Hebrew word used in Genesis 15:6, translated "counted" in the
King James Version, has quite a number of meanings as it is used
throughout the Old Testament: to think, devise, plan, count, reckon,
esteem, value, regard, invent. Obviously we have to give it the meaning
that applies best in the context.
The meaning of Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3: God
is never said to
count (reckon, impute) something to be true that is not true. God did not
declare Abraham to be something that he was not. The imputation of right-
eousness to Abraham was not a legal declaration of something false. God
counted (reckoned, imputed) Abraham to be righteous, not because of his
works, but because his faith/grace relationship with God involved the gift
of the Holy Spirit to his heart.
God never counts an unregenerate sinner to be righteous. When the un-
regenerate person believes in Christ his life is transformed by the new-birth
experience. At the point at which the Holy Spirit is bestowed, the in-
dividual is counted (imputed, reckoned) righteous. When God "justifies
the ungodly" (Rom. 4:5, RSV), they do not remain ungodly. "Having
been set free from sin, [they] have become slaves of righteousness" (Rom.
6:18, RSV).
Abraham believed; God transformed his heart and
simultaneously
de-
clared the reality of His act. The imputation of righteousness (justification)
involved both the transformation and the declaration. The declaration was
God's recognition of His own presence and power in Abraham's life.
The verb
to count (reckon, impute),
in both Hebrew and Greek, some-
times refers to people being regarded as exactly what they are. Nehemiah's
treasurers were "counted faithful" because they were (Neh. 13:13). The
Emim were counted as giants because they were giants (Dent. 2:11, 20).
Job counted his comforters stupid because they were (Job 18:3). God
counted Abraham righteous because the righteousness of God was be-
stowed upon him by the gift of the Holy Spirit to his heart. (Compare Rom.
8:9, 10.)
The verb
to count (reckon, impute)
sometimes refers to a tangible gift,
or statement of ownership. When the tithe was counted (reckoned, im-
puted) to the Levites it was given to them. It became their possession. (See
Num. 18:26-30.) When the town Beeroth was counted (reckoned, im-
puted) to the tribe of Benjamin it became the possession of that tribe. (See
2 Sam. 4:2.) In the same manner, when righteousness was counted (reck-
oned, imputed) to Abraham it became his possession. This did not mean
that he became righteous independent of God. The imputation of right-
eousness to Abraham involved
the bestowal of righteousness upon him by
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Ellen White's understanding of imputed righteousness.
a.
The righteousness of Christ is put to the believer's account.
"If you
give yourself to Him [Christ], and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful
as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous.
Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted
before God just as if you had not sinned."—Steps
to Christ,
p. 62; see also
Selected Messages,
book 1, p. 367.
b.
The righteousness of Christ is bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon the
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